


Sneaking Pictures

by Annibellee



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Casey is an adorable child, Dave done dies deads, Dave gets sick, Dave keeps it to himself, Dave likes pictures, John is oblivious, John is strong, M/M, casey is fucking steel, this is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-09 12:13:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4348379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annibellee/pseuds/Annibellee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over your dead body would you let him see your pictures of him</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sneaking Pictures

**Author's Note:**

> A HUGE thank you to my awesome friend Khemi for editing this for me!!! She's an incredible writer, and super duper kind ahhh thank you. <3
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy your heartbreak served cold. :)

   

> It started in your shitty little darkroom in your Bro's shitty little apartment: you were suddenly struck with a motive to take pictures of John. It wasn't normal for you to have such an inclination for taking pictures of anything, especially candid ones. You were the type to seek permission, despite what some may think.  
>    
>        Normally, John is tense whenever he's conscious of you taking a picture, and it never seems to come out right that way. You know it's because he doesn't like the way he looks as much as he may claim, as he revealed one Thursday in a drunken state, but that doesn't bother you, and he's never opposed to pictures, so it works.  
>    
>        When John doesn't realize you're taking a picture, you definitely get the best ones. So, now you're in your dark room, admitting to yourself that it's become a bit of a hobby to take candid John pics; you even started a totally ironic scrapbook of these photos, which will only ever be shared over your dead body.  
>    
>        After you two became a couple, a year or two after your hobby had taken you full force, the scrapbook was so full you had to buy another one.  
>    
>        You were on another book three a year after that, when you two moved in together. The packing pictures you stole in your new little apartment were gold. Rose and Jade were roped in on your shenanigans, and you made him pose with you for a couple of shots,canceling out all suspicions.  
>    
>        Soon, as you anticipated, maybe even a little earlier than you expected, the pranks went into motion. You were _totally_ ready for all of them- Okay, you were _mostly_ ready for all of them. Or some. That wasn't important! His pranks were a lot more frequent when you started living together, anyway, that was the big picture. It would have begun to annoy you, if he hadn't left little sticky notes at the site of each prank.

>   
>        Why would a sticky note make you feel better, you ask? Because without fail, every time, he would draw a heart and sign his name. John had his own style for drawing hearts, and it melted yours every time you saw it- yet another thing you wouldn't admit out loud.  
>    
>       You loved the sticky notes so much, you would've hated to throw them away. Instead, you made a section in the back of your scrapbooks for them. As long as he continued to play pranks, and leave notes, you kept each and every one.  
>    
>       You were married in a flurry, on the first anniversary of the day you moved in together.
> 
>      John wanted to adopt, but you were skeptical. Bro was never exactly parental figure of the year, and it made your breath speed up every time you thought of how you'd never be able to pull off raising a kid and _not_ royally fucking it up. John was always kind and reassured you at night when you used to sit up thinking about it for hours upon hours. He made sure to kiss your temples, sensing your headache, and let you know how he thought you would be a wonderful father.

> The word made your stomach squirm.
> 
>      In the end he won out, because he began to add little stick-figure-drawings of you two holding hands along with his heart and signature. The gap between you, while you stood together, was filled with question marks, his cute way of pestering you about the matter. Your heart would clench and your stomach would squirm, but one day you felt warm all over too, and that's when you knew you were ready.  
>    
>       You moved again, into a house this time, with help from Rose and Jade and the rest of your friends.
> 
>      After settling down, you adopted a little girl named Casey, still just a baby. The first time you saw her, your blood ran cold and your heart clenched again, your stomach squirming with the fear that took you over. John carefully passed her to you with teary eyes, and from the moment she touched you, you felt warm again. It was _right_. This was your baby and you were gonna raise the fuck out of this small chunk of human.
> 
>      Casey was a beautiful little thing thing, but she was also _time consuming_. This gave you a lot of opportunities to sneak more pictures of John, whenever it was his turn to take care of her, and suddenly she was part of your hobby. Casey loved pictures, too, in all her glory, and loved to help you catch her other daddy off guard whenever she could. Unfortunately, she was _neutrally_ chaotic, helping her other daddy in pranking you just as often. John even taught her the ropes in the art of sticky notes, now engraved with two hearts and signatures.

>   
>       She was twelve when you found out. You went to the doctor for a 'regular checkup' and they found something irregular going on. Tests ensued. You didn't think much of it, until it became too real all at once- you were sick, and sick apparently was you.  
>    
>       You couldn't bear to tell John, much less Casey. Somehow for the next three years (jeez you made it further than you expected), despite your doctor's wishes, you kept it to yourself. Many days of work were missed, so you had to tell your boss so you wouldn't be fired; she was shocked, but didn't pry too much, instead gravely nodding her head after asking the basics, then sending you quietly on your way. She soon sent you an intern who she was probably going to replace you with, when the time came. Initially it pissed you off, but eventually you came to terms. Business is business , after all.
> 
>      When you got your solemn two month warning, you cracked and told John. It was probably one of the worst fights you ever had.

> You made him promise not to tell Casey.  
>    
>       He didn't treat you any differently, aside from being just a tiny bit more careful with you. You were glad he could act so normal; it was really what kept you going, that feeling of normalcy. He only tried to talk about it a handful of times, but your eyes were teary and weary each time as you looked at him, physically pleading for him to let it go.

>     Every time this happened he would leave for the night, to go get so drunk he couldn't remember, waking up on either Rose or Jade's couch. They always informed you, and Rose was nosy as ever.
> 
>      On the marker of your last two weeks, you were standing in front of your bathroom mirror, looking at your deteriorating, shirtless self. You broke again and told Rose and Jade. Rose ordered you all to have a get together, and before leaving your house you caught John consoling a tearful Casey, telling her, "don't worry, it's gonna be okay. He's fine, I promise,".  
>    
>        You hated yourself for being the reason he lied to her.  
>    
>        One night, climbing sluggishly into bed after tucking Casey in, you asked John for some water. He left, came back and you pulled him in for a kiss, took a sip, and kissed him again. Your shades were folded neatly at your bedside table, and you looked at him with tears in your eyes.

> It was time, and you knew it.

> You'd had difficulties lately, hiding your periods of sickness from Casey, although you never knew if it really worked or if Casey was playing dumb for your sake. You knew this was coming, through it all.
> 
>      You cuddled up to John, kissed his neck a few slow times, and then his forehead. Your breathing was a bit uneasy as you held back tears. He took your head in his shaking hands and kissed both of your temples, just like he had done on all the nights you were stressed. This time he gave you the biggest, teary, smile to ever grace his face. He told you that he loved you, and he always would, and how he wanted you to know you'd be the only one he'd ever truly love. You gave some sarcastic ass response that made him laugh wetly, but became serious and told him he'd better try again if he ever did find someone good for him and Casey. John protested and told you no one would ever be better than you, and it was your turn to laugh. You called bullshit and he gently punched your shoulder. The tears never stopped.
> 
>      You traded memories for a short while, until you became obnoxiously tired, sleep taking you forcefully. You both shared 'I love you' back and forth, until finally, inevitably, you were lulled into unconsciousness, and slipped into the dark.
> 
>   
>  **\---**  
>    
>        It was four sixteen AM when you felt an uncomfortable coldness. You didn't have to open your eyes to know the reason. The sob you produced was immediate and you didn't care to restrain it.  
>    
>        Casey raced in. Since she was a light sleeper, you woke her. She saw Dave, unmoving despite being so close to you and your loudness, and came closer. You pulled away from him and brought your knees to your chest, the entire room echoed with your cries. You didn't have to tell her, she knew, you could tell then. Perhaps she had the whole time, because before wrapping her arms around you, she punched you, accusing you of your blatant lie and becoming a puddle of tears herself.  
>    
>        After all was said and done with funeral arrangements and the like, you started packing some of Dave's things to put in the attic, unable to look at his belongings. It was midweek you found a collection of books you had never seen before.  
>    
>        After pulling them from their hiding spots, you went through the series. They were labeled one through fifty three. Casey came up after she heard you crying, staring at the last page of the first book. She sat down and hugged you with more force than you remembering her being able to muster, and you were forced to remember she was far from being a baby anymore. You don't remember at which point it was that she started crying too, but you noticed around the time she had been integrated. You were careful to keep the books far enough away so that they wouldn't be stained.  
>    
>        You both were up there, flipping slowly through pages upon pages until you reached the very end. There was only one picture including Dave, you had noticed, in the whole collection, and it was the last picture. It was a picture of everyone at Rose's house five weeks ago.  
>    
>        You put all the books away, calmed yourself and Casey down, and took her to the kitchen to eat. You had been looking through pictures for three hours, and it was already five. Oh well. You decide you'll take her out for dinner. You think she definitely deserves it, and you can't bring yourself to make anything right now. She hadn't been out of the house other than to attend the funeral for the past two weeks, some air may do her good.  
>    
>        It became a ritual every night, after making sure Casey was asleep, you would go through every single book before heading to bed yourself. You would always whisper I love you into the darkness, and on nights where you missed him the most you could swear he whispered back,
> 
> _**"I love you too"** _


End file.
